On Sunday afternoon, he issued a statement in which he said that Twitter was not the ideal forum to have tried to address the issue.

His statement in full said: “Last night’s frank Twitter conversation was about what policing does.

“It is important to have meaningful exchanges on social media without lapsing into ‘management speak’.

“However, such issues are not always best addressed in the 140 characters of a tweet.

“I have clearly caused offence by my response and for this I apologise.

“The real debate needs to be about the role of the police and, where that starts and finishes, and the impact it has on officers, staff and their families.

“I have already spoken to the Chair of the Police Federation and will be happy to discuss these issues over the coming days with the respective Staff Associations.

“Policing is a complex and challenging profession. I am hugely proud of the work my officers and staff do every day in serving the public and I want to support and encourage these great people. My message last night would not have conveyed that support and for that I am sorry.”